Feminist Perspectives on Land Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Feminist Perspectives on Land Law - Essay Example One of the important social factors contributing to this question has resulted from the fact that in recent year's family home has been used to secure for business borrowings in which both spouses are required to sign the relevant documents. There have been other economic and political factors which has supported this economic decision. This presents a new situation which brought to surface the impact of 'undue influence' on the minority and weaker section representing wives; on the ground of emotional and financial dependence on the husband. Some of the other factors have been increased owner-occupation since second World war, government encouragement to small businesses in 1980's and increasing trend for spouses to hold jointly the legal title to the family home.. The real source of the problem has emerged from the fact that though wife is now required to execute documents charging the family home, it does not necessarily mean that she has an equal involvement with her husband in planning the transaction or an equal voice when it comes to making the decision to sign. The role of the courts in the English law, is significant, while they respond to an increasing rhetoric of equality in English society througho... And it can be seen that judges have been even more creative in the way they have managed to limit women's rights to a successful claim or defence, to limit women's claims even when they appear to 'win' their case, and to ensure that men generally do better out of these disputes than women. The equality and justice is hard to sustain on the facts. (Auchmuty,2005)1 The focus of this discussion is evaluation and examination of the unfair justice practiced with regard to the position of the women, when it comes to equal treatment, in the matters concerning property disputes. On many instances it can be seen in the context of English Law that men and commercial lenders and other individual have been the greater beneficiary in comparison to women. The law and the judges have invariably favoured the possession of property to male members and commercial lenders with bias against their social disposition to manage and maintain property. English women have not been treated equally in relation to property; they have consistently been denied their fair share in property ownership. The biggest test for the courts and the judges have been in the cases where there is legal rhetoric and legal reasoning, which have supported unfair shares between the two genders in attaining court resolutions of informal co-ownership disputes and unfair outcomes in undue influence cases involving mortgagees. The rules of equity need to protect women as in many cases even judges lean towards male bias. "Married women could and probably should benefit from special protection in property law; that is , because married women suffer special disadvantage on account of their structural